The Role Of Geometry In Fashion And Clothing Design
Many people do not realize how geometry is used outside of the classroom but in fact, geometry is used in nearly everything that we do and plays a huge role in our everyday lives. Geometry is shown every day through shapes, patterns, and designs in things such as road markings, sports fields, animals and so much more.
Geometry also plays a big role in fashion in many different ways, for instance, symmetry, reflection, proportion, ratios, and circles. Fashion has many components that relate to geometry and the significant factor leading to it is seaming clothes or stitchery. When making clothing, there is a system called Scale Factor which is used to regulate how much material is needed and to determine the pattern to the sizing charts. If geometry was not involved in this system than there would be no way of knowing what size the clothing piece needs to be or how much material is needed to compose the attire. While using Scale Factor, the goal is to try to figure out what size the garment is supposed to be. Ratios are used throughout Scale Factor because “The pattern will be 'x' times smaller than you want your actual garment to be” which means that if the clothing item is supposed to be a size 0, the ratio would be 1:4. Predominantly, the use of Scale Factor uses geometry to do one of the most important parts of clothes making which is sizing.
Although the Scale Factor is very important in geometry and in clothes making, sewing and stitchery serve as a colossal aspect because most things that have to do with stitching is geometry. Seams use symmetry, reflection, midpoints, circles, and slope to have the most beneficial outcome of the product. Circles are used in seams when trying to find an exact measurement from one point to another by using their radii to figure out where to sew. Slopes are used when the seam is directly parallel to the other seam because the slope should be exactly the same as the other side so that the clothing piece is even and not unbalanced. Therefore, since seams have to be very precise and accurate, geometry is used to find the exact markings needed by applying midpoints, circles, and slopes. Designs and patterns displayed on clothing have a deeper sense than just the latest trends and what is fashionable. Patterns such as plaid are made up of parallel and perpendicular lines which create smaller squares and rectangles. The parallel and perpendicular lines both have the same slope throughout the design which construct small geometric shapes. The pinstripe patterns also use parallel lines which have the same slope as well. Reflection is used in clothing to mirror one half of the design over the line of symmetry to the other side. Lastly, tessellations are duplicated across clothes to form a repeating pattern. Geometry comes in tessellations when trying to create a perfect design so that there are no divisions or overlaps among the object.
For all we know, geometry is shown through many parts of fashion and clothing design and presents a crucial factor. In conclusion, many aspects of geometry are used to support the manufacturing and designing of clothing.
